18 U.S. Code § 209 - Salary of Government officials and employees payable only by United States

(a)Whoever receives any salary, or any contribution to or supplementation of salary, as compensation for his services as an officer or employee of the executive branch of the United States Government, of any independent agency of the United States, or of the District of Columbia, from any source other than the Government of the United States, except as may be contributed out of the treasury of any State, county, or municipality; or

Whoever, whether an individual, partnership, association, corporation, or other organization pays, makes any contribution to, or in any way supplements, the salary of any such officer or employee under circumstances which would make its receipt a violation of this subsection—

Shall be subject to the penalties set forth in section
216 of this title.

(b)Nothing herein prevents an officer or employee of the executive branch of the United States Government, or of any independent agency of the United States, or of the District of Columbia, from continuing to participate in a bona fide pension, retirement, group life, health or accident insurance, profit-sharing, stock bonus, or other employee welfare or benefit plan maintained by a former employer.

(c)This section does not apply to a special Government employee or to an officer or employee of the Government serving without compensation, whether or not he is a special Government employee, or to any person paying, contributing to, or supplementing his salary as such.

(d)This section does not prohibit payment or acceptance of contributions, awards, or other expenses under the terms of chapter
41 of title
5.

(e)This section does not prohibit the payment of actual relocation expenses incident to participation, or the acceptance of same by a participant in an executive exchange or fellowship program in an executive agency: Provided, That such program has been established by statute or Executive order of the President, offers appointments not to exceed three hundred and sixty-five days, and permits no extensions in excess of ninety additional days or, in the case of participants in overseas assignments, in excess of three hundred and sixty-five days.

(f)This section does not prohibit acceptance or receipt, by any officer or employee injured during the commission of an offense described in section
351 or
1751 of this title, of contributions or payments from an organization which is described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and which is exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of such Code.

(g)

(1)This section does not prohibit an employee of a private sector organization, while assigned to an agency under chapter
37 of title
5, from continuing to receive pay and benefits from such organization in accordance with such chapter.

(2)For purposes of this subsection, the term “agency” means an agency (as defined by section
3701 of title
5) and the Office of the Chief Technology Officer of the District of Columbia.

(h)This section does not prohibit a member of the reserve components of the armed forces on active duty pursuant to a call or order to active duty under a provision of law referred to in section
101(a)(13) of title
10 from receiving from any person that employed such member before the call or order to active duty any payment of any part of the salary or wages that such person would have paid the member if the member’s employment had not been interrupted by such call or order to active duty.

Section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, referred to in subsec. (f), is classified to section
501 of Title
26, Internal Revenue Code.

Prior Provisions

A prior section
209, act June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 693, related to an offer of a bribe to a witness, prior to the general amendment of this chapter by Pub. L. 87–849and is substantially covered by section
201.

Provisions similar to those comprising this section were contained in section
1914 of this title prior to the repeal of such section and the general amendment of this chapter by Pub. L. 87–849.

1989—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 101–194substituted at end “Shall be subject to the penalties set forth in section
216 of this title.” for “Shall be fined not more than $5,000 or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.”

1986—Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 99–646inserted “or, in the case of participants in overseas assignments, in excess of three hundred and sixty-five days”.

Amendment by Pub. L. 107–347effective 120 days after Dec. 17, 2002, see section 402(a) ofPub. L. 107–347, set out as an Effective Date note under section
3601 of Title
44, Public Printing and Documents.

Effective Date

Section effective 90 days after Oct. 23, 1962, see section 4 ofPub. L. 87–849, set out as a note under section
201 of this title.

Exemptions

Exemptions from former section
1914 of this title deemed to be exemptions from this section, see section 2 ofPub. L. 87–849, set out as a note under section
203 of this title.

Promulgation of Regulations

Responsibility of Office of Government Ethics for promulgating regulations and interpreting this section, see section 201(c) of Ex. Ord. No. 12674, Apr. 12, 1989, 54 F.R. 15159, as amended, set out as a note under section
7301 of Title
5, Government Organization and Employees.